According to the EIA report, metallurgical exports for this past August (2011) were 33.6% ahead of those in August of last year, and steam coal exports were 34.6% ahead. Comparing 2011 year-to-date exports through August with last year, shows metallurgical shipments 18.2% ahead (45.9 million tons v. 38.8 million tons) and steam coal is nearly 69% ahead (24.6 million tons v. 14.6 million tons). 2011 year-to-date imports were off by more than 26% (9.5 million v. 13 million). West Virginia’s 2011 year-to-date production, through the week ending October 15th, was 3% ahead of last year (137.8 million tons v. 133.9 million tons).
The eight Appalachian states of WV, KY, VA, AL, TN, OH, PA and MD are producing more than a 1/3 of America’s coal, but that accounts for 64% of the value of all the coal mined in this country and these states have more than 70% of the coal miners in the United States.